Essai #14 - Back to the south - Part II
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"Ooooh toll, viel Spaß, aber sei vorsichtig :)"
These were the kind words from Tobias (a.k.a. osc()_peterson) before my first scuba diving baptism. A few hours later, I went on the boat heading towards the Shark Teeth spot in Giens (Hyères les Palmiers).
That day was warm enough to make my chest turn reddish within 10 minutes. No wind, just the sun. Before that, I had to try on my suit, which was extremely uncomfortable and complicated to put on.
On board, after listening to all the safety instructions, I didn’t ask about my ears. Yes, I still have two of them and they hurt every time I take a flight because of decompression. But I’m used to it, and I’ve been dealing with this issue for a long time.
I was the first one in the water. The woman in charge fixed the oxygen tank on my back, explained how it worked, put the mask on me, fitted the snorkel, and then it was time to let go and follow her movements, which guided me.
It was, at the same time, strange and powerful to feel that — a sort of acceptance of being elsewhere and seeing the beauty of the underwater world. We had to use hand signals to communicate down there, and as long as the guide saw that everything was okay, she would keep pushing you deeper towards the sea floor.
I remember looking up at the surface, seeing the sun reflecting on it, and thinking to myself:
"Okay, that’s great — so deep and no ear issues"
After 3 to 4 meters, I started to feel something and gave the "stop" signal. We waited a few minutes to let the decompression process work using the nose-pinching technique. It helped a bit. Then I told the guide we could continue the dive. About 30 seconds later, at around 4 to 6 meters, I felt a strong pressure. She didn’t stop because she was in the middle of pushing us down. Five seconds later, I heard a loud tear in my right ear like an explosion and felt dizzy, a wave of panic and claustrophobia took over me.
We went up to the surface as fast as we could to see what had happened. I explained the situation, and we waited. Not long after, we went back underwater.
The second time, I felt no pain and was able to swim all the way down to the sea floor (about a day after the doctor told me I had a tympanic membrane perforation). But each time, we had to return to the surface because of the claustrophobia and the pressure on my lungs — and each time, I could stay a bit longer. That’s just how it went.
It’s a mechanical issue, and I don’t want to discourage you if you’re interested in scuba diving. It really was an incredible and beautiful experience.
But above all, we need to understand and respect our limits because in this underwater world, you can’t control everything, especially the first time.
Today, I can’t hear, and it’s hard for me to keep going because I can’t play music, I'm frustrated. I believe I can heal quickly but only with patience. I'm working on preparing some new experimental stuff for you pretty soon.
Take care.
mot4i